Posted by Migo on Aug 22nd, 2006
This came over my wire earlier today. I had completely forgotten about this two-year-old bug until then. Amazing what can slip your mind.
As it turns out, there’s a huge flaw with Ubuntu on certain systems. Those systems, namely, are ones that run Windows. You see, according to Launchpad.net, the site that officially handles bug-tracking in Ubuntu, the critical flaw is listed as:
Microsoft has a majority market share in the new desktop PC marketplace. This is a bug, which Ubuntu is designed to fix.
Now, being a full-time Ubuntu user, I found this funny. It got me thinking, however. Is there a chance that Linux could actually make a dent in the juggernaut that is Microsoft?
Well, apparently, it seems highly possible. Stuart Cohen, chief executive of the Open Source Development Lab (OSDL) said during the LinuxWorld conference in San Francisco that Microsoft will release a version of it’s Office suite to run on Linux within the “next couple of years”. “They did it once with Apple; they will do it again with Linux,” he was quoted as saying during an interview with vnunet.com at the conference.
Cohen suggested that Microsoft will have to create a Linux version of Office to pre-empt the further rise of the OpenOffice productivity suite put out by Sun Microsystems. While saying that Microsoft will fight the total cost of ownership issue with an inexpensive solution, he went on to say that he didn’t think that the Office package would be open sourced.
He went on to note that this would not mean that Windows and Linux would be any less than fierce competitors with each other still, but it would simply be business move. “They are trying to cooperate,” Cohen continued. “They have now acknowledged that Linux is here to stay.”
So there you have it, proof that Linux is starting to make a bigger splash in the world than just being a few guys in a basement writing code. So, if you’re running Linux, consider yourself part of something bigger. If you’re not, you can always download a CD and give it a whirl.
Posted in code, geek
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Corvus
August 22, 2006 at 11:23 pm
I think Cohen is spouting rhetoric. We (and it is so odd to be able to say that now!) Linux users are making progress, but I think prophecies of a sudden dent in MS’s market share are all so much smoke. I present this essay,”The Linux Desktop Myth”, written by A.Y. Siu (Aysiu on the Ubuntu forums) for consideration. In the essay, he tackles several points related to the issue of Linux’s growth. The practical upshot is that one single “killer app” or even a nod of the head by MS is not going to boost Linux or indicate that Linux has become MS’s Boogeyman. It’s a good sign, yes, but I think Cohen and you are overstating the point a bit.
Firlefanz
August 23, 2006 at 8:21 am
I believe that Linux will keep growing, as more programs become available. The most important sector will be games, I think.
If the Linux group manages to get most Windows games running (and running well), they will get a huge bonus. (I still miss playing Civ II, which won’t run on XP, for example.)
I’ll switch to Linux once support for XP ends. I won’t go to Vista and get spyed on even more.
Jerry
August 23, 2006 at 2:51 pm
Corvus: I wasn’t trying to make this speculation sound bigger than it is, although I appear to have done just that. What I meant to say is that speculations like this are proving that Linux is making more of a name for itself than anyone had thought it was going to back in 1991, when it all started.
Microsoft releasing software for Linux won’t prove that it the penguin is a steamroller and slayer of giants. It will, however, mean that it’s beginning to recieve more recognition and proving that it has some staying power.